import gc
import time
mylist = []

def make():
    #this just fills in the list with some junk data
    print 'making them'
    for x in range(0,1000000):
        mylist.append(['aa','bb','cc','dd',2,3,4,5,6,7,8])
    print 'made them'
    
def gone():
    #this is so I can watch the memory
    print 'are they gone?'
    time.sleep(2)
    
def deletethem():
    #did they get deleted?
    print 'deleting ref'
    del mylist[:]
    #print gc.collect()
    
if __name__ == '__main__':
    print 'starting'
    while 1:
        make()
        deletethem()
        gone()